WWE '13 is the ultimate wrestling game, but it has its flaws too.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Sound: 8.5/10
Longevity: 9.2/10
I've been a big wrestling fan for years and in addition to watching the product, I've also played most of the SmackDown! vs. Raw games. However, for some reason I didn't play WWE '12, which was somewhat a new start for the WWE games. Now, I've corrected my mistake and played WWE '13 well enough to review it. Attitude is back!
The roster consists of over 80 wrestlers and the roster is roughly split in half: the other half is todays superstars, the other is Attitude legends. Then there's around a dozen divas and DLC wrestlers. Superstars include all the biggest names in the company today, like John Cena, The Rock, Undertaker, Triple H, Brock Lesnar and cover boy CM Punk. Attitude legends include Stone Cold Steve Austin, classic Rock, Shawn Michaels, Mankind, "Lord of Darkness" Undertaker, Bradshaw, masked Kane and many others. The roster features multiple versions of certain superstars, like Triple H, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Kane and Edge. DLC wrestlers feature Ryback, Damien Sandow, Lord Tensai, Rikishi and more.
WWE '13 is fun to play. The controls require some time to learn. Rookies should play hours offline before going online challenging others. The gameplay is what wrestling is: strikes, grappling, throws, diving attacks, springboard attacks, taunting, using weapons and of course using trademark moves. Every wrestler has their own signature and finishing moves. After you hit a signature move, you get a finisher icon which you can use right away or store. The momentum meter is the meter which allows you to do special moves and you fill it by successfully doing attacks and taunts.
The new OMG! moves are a nice little addition to the gameplay. You can break the ring, spear an opponent through the barricade or through the cage. WWE '13 features lots of different match types, basically everything you see in the program is here from standard matches to steel cage matches and the majestic Royal Rumble. The mode that replaces the storyline driven Road to Wrestlemania is the new, nostalgic Attitude Era mode. It features you reliving classic Attitude moments in awesome matches that happened in real life. It's very nostalgic for longtime WWF/E fans and even features real footage from the historical feuds and matches. You unlock more superstars, attires and championship belts through the Attitude Era mode.
The WWE Universe mode is back to entertain the fans with endless storylines. The game promises thrilling branching storylines, even though they very rarely happen, which is quite disappointing. Creation tools are back larger than ever. You can create superstars with many attires, entrances, movesets, finishing moves, entrance videos, logos, storylines and edit the attires of the in-game superstars with Superstar Threads. I've always been a big CAW creator and it once again proved to be really addicting, even though it still has some stupid old flaws, like you can't apply logos on certain places (for example crotch) and they sometimes have the habit of appearing in wrong places.
Now I have to address the biggest cons of WWE '13 and that is quite regular freezing and other bugs and glitches. Sometimes after creating and saving a CAW, the game just randomly freezes and this also happens in Universe quite regularly. The game is also plagued by bugs and glitches. Sometimes an AI wrestler just gets stuck on the ropes, sometimes they go through the ring and sometimes they float in the air after you've broken a table from beneath them. The loading times are also long, so be prepared to stare at Daniel Bryan's goatface for at least half a minute.
WWE '13 looks nice. The crowd still looks somewhat flat, but I can take it. The wrestlers look accurately like their real-life counterparts, except for the unrealistic hair, which looks like it's straight out of a Playstation 2 game. The arenas look good and the menus are stylish. Created wrestlers also look really good, almost like in-game superstars if they're well made. The new audio system is not what it promises to be. Sometimes the crowd sounds go from huge cheers to dead silence in a matter of seconds which is really unrealistic. Entrance themes are authentic and sound good and the sound effects are decent. The menus should really have more songs, since there's only a dozen and you'll grow tired of them really quickly. Who wants to listen to Zack Ryder's "Radio" for the hundredth time?
The Attitude Era mode is quite lengthy and I'm sure you'll be tempted to open all the wrestlers, attires and championships it unlocks. Creating your storylines in Story Designer can be really addictive, so is creating your own superstars with up to four different attires. WWE '13 features a lot of content to keep a wrestling fan hooked for months.
Even with all the freezing, bugs, glitches and long loading times, WWE '13 is still worth buying, especially if you were a wrestling fan during the Attitude Era. It offers a lot of content, great creating tools, playable Attitude legends and above all, a great, fun gameplay. Buy it if you're a wrestling fan, but prepare to face the flaws as well.
+ Nostalgic Attitude Era mode, big roster, great gameplay, lots of creation tools, lots of content
- Freezing, bugs and glitches, long loading times, branching storylines rarely happen in Universe, disappointing new audio system, there should be more songs in the menus, hair models look outdated
REAL SCORE: 9.2